1872.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
137 
to bear less or greater -weight. Hails must be 
plentifully used, to make the arch solid, and 
when complete a few screw-bolts should be put 
through, and the nuts, protected with broad 
washers, screwed up tight. There will then be 
a solid rigid arch of timber, twelve inches 
wide, and as thick as may be. Three or four 
of these are made and set up on the founda¬ 
tion, and stayed with cross-stays. Cross-beams 
are placed on them, on which the roadway is 
built. These arched beams are much stronger 
than straight ones, and are of much more de¬ 
sirable form. For an ornamental bridge they 
are especially desirable, as they are susceptible 
of any amount of improvement in shape that 
may be wished. Where long, heavy timbers 
are difficult to procure, these arches will be 
found much cheaper, as the materials are at 
hand everywhere. A coating of hot tar to each 
board before the next one is laid on, and then 
an extra coating over all when finished, will 
help to preserve the timber for many years. 
•-- nq -^ — ■ t i i ^ -—■—= 
Irrigating Meadows. 
The practice of irrigating or watering mea¬ 
dows is one of great antiquity. In Europe 
meadows are to be seen, in which the banks 
and ditches are several centuries old. For all 
this long space of time these fields have been 
yielding large crops of grass, and those we have 
seen certainly show no symptoms of wearing 
out, but are as prolific as ever. Streams of con¬ 
siderable size and smaller brooks and creeks 
are embanked or dammed, and in time of freshet 
the water is permitted to flow over the fields, 
carrying much suspended matter, which is soon 
deposited and forms a rich dressing of fertiliz¬ 
ing material; or the water flowed back by the 
dams is led in channels around the meadow, 
and permitted to run through sluices over the 
grass. By this last method there is no neces¬ 
sity for waiting for a natural rise of the stream, 
and a watering can be given whenever desired. 
It is necessary that the field should be flat and 
somewhat level, with a small and gradual rise 
from the banks of the stream. The space over¬ 
flowed, of course, depends on the amount of 
this rise, as it is not practicable, without much 
expense, to dam the water to a greater bight 
than two or three feet. Where the ground has 
but a very small declivity, or is very nearly 
level, the water may he backed up and made to 
overflow as much as possible, and a succession 
of dams and low embank¬ 
ments will then form a suc¬ 
cession of meadows down 
the stream. Where the 
ground has a greater slope, 
the stream is dammed and 
the water led around the 
meadow (as in fig. 1), and 
discharged in sluices as it 
may be desired. The ditches 
are made only deep enough 
to carry the water, and the 
earth thrown out forms the 
bank of the canal. A suc¬ 
cession of these may be made down the stream, 
more or less in number, as the slope of the 
ground may necessitate. Another and very 
common mode in use in 
many parts of this country 
where springs are plentiful, 
is shown in fig. 2, and is 
well adapted to flowing hill¬ 
sides as -well as level ground, 
in the absence of a stream. 
A spring is led by a small 
ditch, often a mere furrow 
made by the plow, in as 
level a direction as possible 
across the field, when it is 
turned at a sharp angle (the 
angle should be protected 
by a large stone, to prevent 
wearing of the bank by the 
current), and brought back 
at a lower level until it is 
exhausted, or the field has 
been passed over. This little 
stream is tapped here and 
there, and the water distributed where it is 
wanted and as it is needed, until the whole field 
is watered as far as possible. Before cutting 
for hay, the water is diverted 
from the channels, so that 
the ground may become 
quite dry. After the hay is 
removed, the water is let on 
again, and a good watering 
given. To keep a meadow 
in good order, it is necessary 
to keep all stock from it 
(pasturing is completely de¬ 
structive), and to occasional¬ 
ly scatter seed, where the 
desired grasses runout, with 
a little guano, wood-ashes, plaster, or other 
fertilizer, and avoid watering during the winter. 
By judicious and careful 
treatment a meadow may 
be kept in timothy, red- 
top, and clover for several 
years, without re-seeding. 
It i3 necessary, in this 
case, to give waterings of 
short duration, and only 
at times when the rains 
are not sufficiently copi¬ 
ous. Meadows of red-top 
and common meadow- 
grasses may have the wa¬ 
ter running during the 
season. A good water- 
meadow, well cared for, 
may be depended on for 
two cuttings equal to 
three or four tons of hay per acre in the sea¬ 
son. Such crops will pay good interest on the 
outlay, which in favorable localities is but 
trifling, if properly directed. 
Stanchions and Stalls. 
We have many inquiries from readers de¬ 
sirous of building stables about inside arrange¬ 
ments of stalls and fastenings for the stock. 
Fig. 1 shows an arrangement for an ordinary 
cow-stable in which stanchions are used. The 
stalls may be made single or double, or the 
stable may be without stalls. But this latter 
mode permits the cows too much lateral move¬ 
ment, and tends to keep the stable dirty. Stalls 
are to be recommended if only for the pur-pose 
of cleanliness, to keep the cows in then proper 
position so that the droppings may fall into the 
gutter behind them. A double stall should be 
six feet wide, a single one four feet, and eight 
Fig. 1.— CATTLE STANCHIONS. 
feet is about the proper depth. These propor¬ 
tions will vary according to the kind of stock 
kept, whether large or small. 
The stanchions are a row of posts, every 
alternate one being movable, so that the top 
may be thrown sideways (as shown by the dot¬ 
ted lines in fig. 3), and when the animal’s head 
is placed between them, brought back and se¬ 
cured by a pin (a). The cow has no motion 
allowed to her head, except up and down, and 
she is kept from moving backwards or forwards. 
Thus stanchions, while they are or may be un¬ 
comfortable for the cow, are very convenient 
for her owner, and the stable and the animals 
themselves may be kept very neat and clean. 
Fig. 2 shows another stall in which the cows 
are fastened by chain ties, which slide up and 
down on the rod (l>). The feed-trough is ap- 
Fig. 2.— STALLS FOR CATTLE. 
I proachcd by the feeder from a passage-way at 
I the front of the stai‘1, where a drop-door is fixed 
Fig. 2.— IRRIGATING A HILL-SIOE. 
